Safety program is up and running

Marc Moore, the newly-appointed Custer County safety officer as of last month, presented a report on the status of the Safety Program at the Custer County Commission meeting April 23. Thus far, Moore said there are a lot of things going on in the county, and he is impressed with what he sees.
Since the Safety Program has been “dead in the water” for over a year, Moore connected with all the administrative leaders and supervisors in the county to explain what was going on with the program and hear their thoughts. He also went through the requirements of the county’s insurance carrier. Along the way, Moore did some facility checks and said he did not find anything radically amiss.
There were reports of two potential injuries. One was in the slip, trip and fall category on a rug at the library. Moore said this is probably the worst category because the risk is all over. A report was filed, but workman’s compensation was not sought. However, Moore said it was worth the investigation.
The second incident was a near miss involving a road grader operator and a motor vehicle driver trying to communicate. Nothing happened, but Moore said it did not go well. Although there is no tracking mechanism for such incidents, Moore said he would like to put one in place.
“All incidents I want to put out as lessons learned,” said Moore. “There’s not a lot here. I haven’t seen a lot in the past, but it just needs to be out there.”
Employee needs are the biggest weaknesses that Moore found. A lot of these are administrative things like monthly fire extinguisher checks and AED checks. Moore said he would pick up some of this himself to alleviate the headaches of others.
Another thing that needs to be done is the revision of the employee safety manual.
“There’s nothing earthshakingly wrong with that at all. There are just some things that should be added in there and some changes. That’s fairly routine,” said Moore.
Moore asked to approach the commission quarterly with updates. Meanwhile, all the previous members of the safety committee agreed to continue and want to see the program get going again. The first committee meeting is May 12.
With everything in line for the airport land purchase of $550,000 from the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, commissioner Craig Hindle said it was time to pay.
Finance officer Dawn McLaughlin said the contingency would be that $50,000 would come out of the commissioner’s budget. Then, at the end of the year, the county would do a supplement from assigned funds of $500,000. Commissioner Michael Busskohl made the motion, and the council unanimously approved.
Commission legal counsel Aaron Davis said, “It is a historical moment for the  Custer Airport.”
Highway department superintendent Jesse Doyle presented a list of items for the commission to authorize for surplus, with the caveat that the items are not in perfect working condition. This was an issue at the last auction, as people expected showroom condition. Doyle asked if the commissioners cared which auctioneer company he contacted. Hindle said to call them both and see who answered. With that, the commissioners approved the list of surplus items.
Additionally, Doyle reminded the commission that the bids for the Buffalo Gap bridge project will be opened at 8:30 a.m. at the May 7 meeting.
County weed and pest director Mike Baldwin asked the commissioners to consider a resolution asking the Forest Service to restore invasive weed funding for the Black Hills National Forest. This resolution is going to all seven counties in the Black Hills.
Baldwin said money generated from timber sales is supposed to be earmarked to go back to the forest for tree planting and weed treatment. All that money has been taken, so there is no money for weed treatment.
If nothing is done, Baldwin said there would likely be a lot of complaints from landowners about invasive weeds. The resolution would reinstate dedicated dollars for this, adequately fund weed treatment and protect a coordinator position within the program.
Since the commissioners did not all receive Baldwin’s email before the meeting, they voted to table the resolution until May 7 so a resolution could be drawn up in full.
Hindle said it was a bad time to stop weed control because they were gaining some ground. Baldwin said if funding is reinstated, it would probably be September before something could be done.
The commissioners also approved Baldwin’s request to re-hire Remington Miklos as a seasonal weed sprayer starting May 21.
Custer County Search and Rescue (SAR) director Sam Smolnisky asked the commission for approval to sign the medical director agreement. For this the biggest concern was whether the county would be bound to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) training and compliance. Based on his research, Smolnisky said Custer County would not be bound by that, and Davis confirmed this. There is also a one-year time limit with no automatic renewal to make sure it is a good fit for everyone involved.
Smolnisky said he thought it would work out well and was excited about it. The commission unanimously approved.
Director of equalization Scott Storms recommended approving an abatement request for Paul Dummer for the amount of $224.08. After purchasing a parcel, Dummer ended up paying taxes on a garage that was actually on the neighbor’s property. This was approved by the commission.
Another abatement request was presented for Beecher Rock, LLC, for the parking lot of the cemetery. The amount for this was $12.64, which the commission approved. It also approved Jaralei Tufte’s abatement for $89.25.
For public hearings the commission heard a request for a section line improvement submitted by Jason Hunsaker. Hunsaker is in the process of getting a private easement and will know more in a few weeks. Busskohl recommended tabling the request until May 7 when more details were in place. The decision was unanimous. The commission also approved the section line vacation request of Keith Glover.
During public comment, Lea Anne McWhorter informed the commissioners that the Custer County Republicans are hosting a Custer School District Board of Education Candidate Forum at itsmonthly meeting Tuesday, May 6, in the Pine Room at the Custer County Library. The forum will be nonpartisan and candidates will have the opportunity to share who they are, explain why they are running and answer questions. There will be food at 5:30 p.m. and the forum will begin at 6 p.m.
In other news from the April 23 meeting, the commission approved:
• A request for a final plat contingent upon a culvert being installed and the roads being up to specifications.
• An additional request for a final plat.
• A right-of-way occupancy request from Golden West for a fiber optics facility installation.
• The chairman’s signature on a Local Emergency Management Performance Grant Signal Signature Form.
• Multiple alcoholic beverage license applications.
• Resignation of deputy finance officer Marlyn Campbell.